Gavin Harris, the very definition of eye candy and so unbelievably talented in the sack, might believe that mental illness was not only contagious, but that her father had actually tortured some poor animal in that shed behind Tom Jeevers’s house.
And if he believed that, he wasn’t worth a damn.
While she…with dreams of moonlight and mountains and the erotic allure of Otherness…
Well…
It came as no surprise that she was a goddamn fool.
When she glanced back at the man holding on to her arm, he looked as perplexed as she felt.
“It’s okay.” She spoke as she dressed. “It’s getting dark. Go. Do your thing. You’ll know where to find me.”
He let her go because he had no right to keep her back. Besides, what more was there to say when he knew about her mother?
Skylar got to the Jeep quickly and climbed in. When she looked up again, Gavin was nowhere in sight. The gorgeous bastard hadn’t even blown her a kiss.
By the time she reached for the keys in the ignition, darkness cloaked the yard. Stars were already starting to appear since there were no clouds.
Her energy was gone, and her queasiness had returned. Swallowing was difficult, her breathing forced. She couldn’t stand the idea of getting through another night with her disturbed thoughts, not after veering so far off track. The truth was that she didn’t belong here and was sorry she had volunteered to come.
She started the engine, threw the gear shift into Reverse and stepped on the gas. Beyond the dirt driveway, she gunned the car around a sharp bend in the road.
There it was. That damn moon. Shining as if it had every right to be the darkly mysterious thing some people presumed it to be. Light streamed across the tree tops, silvery and almost magical, though it only served to highlight a new emptiness inside her.
She felt like closing her eyes to regroup. She could have used a few deep breaths and more alcohol. Something. Anything.
She just couldn’t go on.
Pulling the Jeep to the side of the road, she cut the engine and sat back. Listening to the quiet beyond the open window, she inhaled air as if she were oxygen starved.
Then she began to pound on the steering wheel with both hands, continuing the tantrum until her hands were sore and throbbing. Giving in to the emotional turmoil eating away at her insides, she slumped forward with her head in her hands.
Chapter 18
It wasn’t okay. Nothing was all right, and that was putting things mildly. Whatever Skylar might do next was out of Gavin’s hands, yet he hoped her word meant something.
Close one.
Too close.
He now fought to hold on to the human in him. With Skylar tripping his emotional switches, he felt the moon’s presence through the roof. That moon called to him right now. It’s time, the silver seducer whispered. Don’t fight.
He stood in the front room of the cabin, ignoring that invitation and listening to the sound of the car taking Skylar from him in the nick of time. His blood thickened in his veins. Though moonlight couldn’t reach him here, his wolf pounded at him from the inside, seconds away from a major meltdown and about to be released one notch at a time.
Volts of supernatural electricity charged through him, causing a claw to spring from the tip of the middle finger of his right hand. It was, he thought, appropriate, and a stiff universal gesture to the whole ordeal. More claws followed until all ten fingernails had been replaced, and his hands could now be considered lethal.
Nowhere to hide.
Angry at the way he’d let Skylar go, he swiped the razor-sharp claws across the legs of his pants, cutting through the cloth and into the meat of his right thigh. Pain was necessary to his thought process. The scent of the blood trickling from his wound helped to replace Skylar’s seductive perfume.
It’s time.
Apprehension twitched his shoulder blades. His mouth felt dry. The wolf’s perceptions came flooding in on an adrenaline-laced tide to prepare him for action.
He wanted to call Skylar back. Hold her. Comfort her. Any fool could see that’s what she needed. But the moon could no longer be ignored. His body was about to meld man and predator, blurring the lines of both, and there was nothing he could do about it.
He stepped onto the porch with a last look behind. Vaulting over the steps, he leaped to the ground, doubling over as the wolf clawed its way up his windpipe and his flesh began to split.
Pain.
An all-too familiar agony.
Christ, he hated this part.
Five seconds passed, then eight, until more muscles got with the program, stretching, rounding as they molded into larger shapes. His legs quickly joined in, filling up the extra space in his pants while neck vertebrae separated with a sound like bombs going off.
His ribs cracked apart as they expanded, making his heartbeat soar in an effort to keep up. The scars on his chest burned, each one brutally painful, barely tolerable. He covered them with both hands to press back the sting, trying hard not to drop to one knee.
But he withstood this. He had to. It was always the same checklist, in the same order: hands, arms, shoulders, hips, legs, back and torso. His face came last, its delicate bones unhinging before shifting its angles to rearrange into an alternate pattern without so many recognizably human features.
As a final insult, a light dusting of hair the consistency of fine fur sprang from his skin. Not thick hair, or enough of it to cover him completely, yet enough to leave him slightly shaggier and a little bit like some kind of throwback to a darker age.
He growled and coughed. Straightening at last, Gavin gave a loud feral roar. With one more glance to the driveway and the road beyond it, he took off toward the hillside where one creature preferred to rule as if it were the king of beasts and could do whatever the hell it pleased.
And that, he confirmed with a deep, guttural growl, just wasn’t acceptable.
*
Skylar told herself that she was stronger than this and shouldn’t condone her jumbled mental state for one second longer.
She wasn’t really invested in any kind of relationship with Gavin Harris after just two strange days. On the contrary, he’d warned her not to expect a relationship with him at all. A guy couldn’t be expected to be more honest than that, except when it wasn’t the truth.
Gavin had lied about this, of course. Every look, move, kiss told her he wanted more.
The motel in town seemed like a terrible place to hide out until morning. At the cabin there were several more things to go through, though the thought of doing so didn’t seem as exciting as before.
As for Gavin researching her family…truly, she hadn’t seen that coming. The fact that she knew nothing about Gavin seemed much too one-sided now and was a problem she’d have to solve. At least this time, during her hasty exit, she’d remembered to scoop up her cell phone. Finding service was another matter, though, and possibly meant driving until she found reception or heading for the hilltop above the main road where service wasn’t blocked by the mountain.
Who would she call?
Trisha would come here to help get the cabin packed up if she asked. Her big sister’s presence would also keep Skylar grounded and keep her addiction to Gavin under control, if that’s what needed to be done.
An addiction. Yes, that’s what this is like.
Every cell in her body urged her to go back to the cabin and follow him or try to pick up his trail.
Some part of her brain refused to be turned away from thoughts about those damn wolves and how her father had ended up.
But Trish was in Miami and hours away when help was needed now and, really, was already overdue.
Though the light on the phone beamed when she tugged it from her pocket, it was a false bit of hope. There were no service bars.
“Damn it.”
Skylar reached for the keys dangling from the ignition—Gavin’s keys—wondering what kind of man chased away a woman he was so obviou
sly interested in by providing her with the means for escape. No branch of law enforcement she knew of allowed civilians to borrow their vehicles, yet she’d been behind this wheel twice. She understood about his work, and that he had an agenda, but…
She turned her head sharply, senses snapping to alert.
A glance in the rearview mirror showed no cars coming, yet she was sure something passed behind the Jeep in a blur of black-on-black.
*
Gavin felt exceptionally fleet, though his muscle mass rippled beneath the density of its new heft. This dangerous physical reprogramming left him feeling much the same inside, with different shadings of Gavin Harris on the outside, and a whole new love-hate relationship with his body.
Growls bubbled up from deep inside him with each stride. Though he couldn’t speak without human vocal chords, the fierceness of the rumbling sounds he made got his point across just fine. He was angrier than ever and resolute in his determination to see this task through.
Where are you, beast?
Can you hear me?
The moon over his head followed him through the trees with the rapt intensity of a searchlight. If he stopped too long in a place hidden from that icy silver light, he’d shift again in reverse, so he was careful to keep to the open portion of path.
Skylar…
My lover…
He swore. It was best not to think of her. He couldn’t be sure about completing this dangerous objective if he kept her in the forefront of his mind.
But some weird fluke of nature allowed him to think he could hear her thoughts, and if she were to call to him again, the way she had the night before, he feared what he might do.
You really shouldn’t have left me, she’d said, and he had returned to her, to that motel, as though compelled to do so.
He felt the fear she refused to show. Her disjointed thoughts were increasingly difficult to separate from his. He couldn’t get her scent out of his lungs, her taste out of his mouth. One small distraction, like picturing her naked, and he might miss something crucial out here, ending things too quickly in the monster’s favor.
He was smart enough to realize that his life had taken a turn for the better the minute he’d laid eyes on Skylar Donovan. After cursing himself and his situation for two long years, barely hanging on to see this task through, all it took for his heart to lighten was seeing her on that porch.
Suddenly a reason to continue living beyond his search for the monster presented itself. There was a reason to live, to protect and to love while he could, in any way he could.
Meeting Skylar had done that.
His senses snapped back to the path. The night smelled like danger and carried an unsettling vibe. Things were too quiet.
Skirting a mound of moss-covered granite, Gavin stopped, curtailing a growl. The monster he sought was here, all right, somewhere close by.
He roared his approval and stood his ground, waiting for the inevitable, daring the creature to find him. But it didn’t appear. Its scent grew stronger but then quickly began to fade. Though that abomination’s presence clung to Gavin’s skin like a second coat of fur, it obviously had other ideas about where to focus its attention.
Gavin jerked his head to the path behind him, fear welling up.
No. Not that.
Not her.
Don’t you dare go after Skylar!
He ran, following the scent of wet fur, his heart exploding in his chest, but he didn’t get far before his senses screamed for him to stop.
He was hit from behind, hard, and flew sideways. His left shoulder smashed painfully into a tree, but he rebounded quickly and spun around. Ramming was this sucker’s MO…
He saw nothing. Not even a leaf moved.
Damn you, beast.
He ventured a step, stood still and upright, and was hurled forward by an unseen force so strong, moving so fast, he didn’t even see a hint of it coming.
But he knew what this was. He’d been in this same situation before.
His nerves fired up. His chest hurt like hell from the pounding inside it. His head swam with fear and remembered glimpses of a semi-invisible opponent. He didn’t like this game. Didn’t appreciate anything about it, or how much stronger the beast was. But he’d be damned if that beast would be allowed to go anywhere near Skylar.
Gavin lunged forward, saw a shadow streak through the brush and gathered himself. As the shadow passed to his left, he leaped again, catching the moving bit of darkness squarely, and hearing its eerie, echoing howl of anger.
The monster turned, lashed out with a lethally clawed, five-fingered paw. Gavin ducked, but felt the claws part his hair above his right ear. Whirling around, he struck at the beast with both hands, his own anger giving him the strength necessary to tag a moving target.
The beast rallied, swiveled and roared. Using its swinging arm as a bat, it connected with Gavin’s stomach, momentarily doubling him over.
But not for long.
Gavin was up on his feet, angry, ready for the next round. Yet all was again silent around him, and there was no monster. It was as if he’d made the whole thing up.
Chapter 19
“Miss Donovan?”
The voice wasn’t familiar and, therefore, didn’t register as Skylar slammed herself back against the seat wondering what the shadow was.
“It’s Tom. Tom Jeevers,” the man approaching the window said. “Are you all right? You’ve been sitting here long enough for me to reach you from the fire access road.”
Skylar turned her head, attempting to regulate her breathing. It was only a man, not a people-hating, flesh-eating wolf in the rearview mirror. “Tom?”
“Is there something wrong with the Jeep?” he asked, looking past her. “Where’s Harris?”
Feeling silly for imagining she’d seen something, Skylar rallied. “He’s in the hills, searching for a wolf.”
Tom nodded his gray-haired head. “Sent you to town, did he?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re heading that way now?”
“I stopped to listen to the night.”
“It’s a fine time for that,” Tom agreed. “Best time to get a walk in, too. With no cars on the road to bother me, I can think, take my sweet time and breathe. After today, I needed a breather. I don’t suppose that you, being from a busy place like Miami, would understand that?”
“I do understand. The quiet takes some getting used to, though,” Skylar admitted. “I tend to want to fill it with something, like most city people do.”
Tom placed both hands on the door. “Well, I won’t keep you.”
“Tom?”
He waited.
“Did they find anything today?”
She didn’t have to explain what she meant. He said, “Not yet. Not that I know of. I’m just glad they didn’t keep me in town. I’m not one for being cooped up after all these years out here.”
“I’m sorry.” She said this sincerely. “I’m sorry my father had anything to do with that shed.”
He nodded and started to turn. Skylar held him up again. “Gavin thinks the wolf out here is dangerous. You will be careful?”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. No self-respecting alpha would bother with an old bag of bones like me, I’ll bet. I hope Harris catches it, if he’s so inclined, though I like to see animals run free, doing what they’re meant to do.”
“This one hurt him,” Skylar said. “I think his search is personal.”
“Really? I hadn’t heard that.” Tom sounded earnest.
“Well, it’s none of my business,” she said. “So I’ll be careful on this road if you will.”
Tom stepped back as she got the car running and shifted into gear. He stayed by the side of the road until she pulled out.
Cruising down the road, Skylar watched in the mirror as darkness quickly enveloped Tom Jeevers. She sincerely hoped he was right about that wolf not bothering an old man who, though spry enough for someone in his eighties, probably couldn’
t outrun a jackrabbit for half a city block.
She drove slowly, deciding how far she’d keep up the pretense of running away before turning back. It wasn’t just stubbornness that formed her decision to ignore Gavin’s warnings, but a pressurized feeling of absolute necessity. Something was going on out here, and her dad’s cabin was part of that mystery.
She drove around one more bend in the curvy two-lane road before jamming on the brakes and white-knuckling the wheel, robbed of yet another crucial breath.
She was not mistaken this time. Something moving very fast had crossed the road, nearly colliding with the Jeep and forcing her to a standstill with her heart again racing.
Deer? Mountain lion? There and gone in a flash?
Seeing no hint of any animal, Skylar rolled up the window and eased the car forward, steering to the right far enough to find room for a U-turn.
She’d go back and pick up Tom, take him home. Her second brief sighting of that animal left her hyped, wary and aware that Tom might not have been the blur she’d seen a few minutes ago. More than one potentially dangerous creature might be on the prowl tonight.
“Gavin,” she said aloud, heading back the way she’d come. “Be careful.”
The Jeep crawled forward as she rounded the bend. But though she searched, Tom Jeevers was nowhere in sight. Then again, he probably knew these hills well enough to find an alternate trail.
The cabin, on the other hand, was easy to find in the dark. When she climbed out of the car in her dad’s driveway, she paused to consider why all the lights in the cabin were blazing.
*
“How did I know you’d return?” Gavin said from beneath the porch overhang, with a sharp eye on the woman who was the second reason his body battled him mercilessly from the inside out.
“Probably because you would have done the same thing,” Skylar replied.
“You’re messing with me, Skylar, and putting yourself at risk.”
“I have a right to do so, and didn’t expect you to be here.”
“Which would have made this worse since you’d have been here alone.”
“I wouldn’t have been here at all,” she argued. “I was planning to go after you.”
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